Tales of CA
by Tama Saga
Summary: Short tales describing the interesting relationship between Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara
1. Faith

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Dedication: These Drabbles exist because I was inspired by the drabbles and sentences written by: Astarael00, Kaitou Magician, and one more...but I can't seem to find his story at the moment.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 1: I have faith in you.

Premise: Conan is involved in yet another murder mystery.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Oh? I recognize that look on your face. You've solved the mystery already?"

The boy detective grinned. "Yeah..."

Ai Haibara wasn't showing it, but she was smiling as she heard this. Even though a small part of her argued that the boy in front of her was going to let her down when it most counted, the more rational part of her knew that her trust was not misplaced.

When the time came and the Black Organization forced him to choose between his girlfriend and her, Ai believed he would find a way to save them both.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: I prefer stories...but...there's a reason for these drabbles. If you think that a character wouldn't do that, please let me know. I'm trying to get a feel for the characters so that my eventual stories would be more believable.


	2. Existence

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 2: Do I Exist to Cause Misfortune to Others?

Premise: Summer break is a time for the children to go outside and enjoy the day without worrying about school.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

She had to think about it for a moment. To decide between staying secluded inside of Dr. Agasa's home or a trip to Okinawa. It was summer break, so she wouldn't be missing anything if she went.

Then she remembered that Kudo would be going...the choice was obvious. She stayed at home.

Everyone returned a few days later. The children were happily telling her about the treasure that they found on the beach. It wasn't much, a few coins and several shells. When Conan finally decided to leave for a moment to find a bottle of water, she took advantage of his absence to ask the other children why they left the murder mystery out of their story.

She was surprised when she heard their answer. "What murder mystery?"

Then one of them asked why she thought a murder would happen on their trip. _Silly_, she was thinking, _haven't you noticed that a murder always happened whenever Kudo came along?_

Instead of voicing her thoughts out loud, she calmly brushed Ayumi's question away with an "oh, no reason." She pretended to ignore them after that. It was such an Ai response, and Conan had just returned to the room with an armful of juice, that the children didn't press her for an answer.

A quiet week later, she found herself joining the others for a trip to the beach. 'Forced' was a better word... Kudo had joined again. The sun was shining and the water was clear. But the happy mood was not to last. By midday, Conan was once again presented with a murder mystery, which he pursued with his usual enthusiasm.

She found herself wondering what changed between the murder free week and today. There was only one thing that she could think of, she hadn't been near Kudo for the entire week. Was her presence the key? It was completely illogical, but the thought continued to bother her. On the way home, the others asked her what was wrong. In answer, she blankly stared out the car window to hide her expression and avoid the question.

The next day, not wanting to cause further harm to others, she had refused to leave Agasa's home, even when the other children called her out to play.

As she stared blankly at the magazine in her hands, the phone rang.

"Haibara, I need to know where the..." came the voice from the other end. Conan was involved in another murder and he needed to know whether it was possible to reconfigure one of the professor's inventions.

After putting down the phone, a small smile appeared as a crushing weight seemed to disappear. So it really was just a coincidence.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: I prefer stories...but...there's a reason for these drabbles. If you think that a character wouldn't do that, please let me know. I'm trying to get a feel for the characters so that my eventual stories would be more believable.


	3. Cool

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 3: She's too Cool Sometimes.

Premise: Ai gave up on finding the antidote. So after moping around for some time, Conan finally noticed something.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Conan gave her a rose during High School one day. Ai threw it out the open window as soon as it entered her hand. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Hours later, the two were spotted working together searching the school grounds for the flower that she had "dropped".

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Thanks to Miyano Ran for pointing out that I jump around in history and universes too much. Sometimes Ai finds an antidote, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes we're in the future and sometimes we're in the past. I updated the premises so that it's easier to keep up.


	4. Serious

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 4: Haibara, Aren't you Taking your Job a Bit too Seriously?

Premise: In a future where the antidote's formula eluded Haibara for so long that it wasn't worth developing anymore.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The teachers hit upon an excellent strategy for keeping two of their students awake and within school.

Let the two teach from time to time and grant them the power to assign homework. The students were surprised. None moreso than the two in question. They proved to be capable teachers however, and the complaints soon slowed to a trickle. Today was Ai's turn.

It wasn't that she was boring, but habit soon had Conan napping at his desk while Ai was up front teaching the material to the class. Moments later, he almost leapt from his seat when she slammed a large stack of papers in front of him.

"Homework for the slacker," she loudly proclaimed, before smirking and returning to the front.

He groaned before laying back down to continue his interrupted nap.

Later that night, while the two were working on that stack of homework together, Conan on solving the problems and Ai on grading them, Conan wondered why his friend usually assigned such large stacks of homework when he usually avoided giving out homework on his day.

Ai hummed lightly. It seemed like she was being cheerful at his expense, however it was nothing of the sort. Really.

Lately, Conan had been the only friendly face in the crowd. When he faded, all that was left were ill-concealed expressions of lust and hostility from the other students. She couldn't figure out how Conan managed to deal with it, but this was her way to control her classmates. She also thought it was rather clever that, in addition to instilling some fear into the crowd, it was a subtle way to find some quiet time with her detective.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: I prefer stories...but...there's a reason for these drabbles. If you think that a character wouldn't do that, please let me know. I'm trying to get a feel for the characters so that my eventual stories would be more believable.


	5. Stop or Else

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 5: If you want to keep it, don't bother me.

Premise: All the reader needs to know is that girls and sharp objects don't mix well with boys.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The toilet seat was cold one morning.

She groggily sat down on it...

The resulting yelp of surprise filled Agasa's home and successfully woke him up. Blinking away the sleep, a large grin slowly filled his face. Silently creeping out of the spare futon he went to wait outside of the bathroom...

...he stopped teasing her soon after he had started. He didn't quite believe her, but he wasn't willing to risk it.

What did Ai do to get him to stop? Instead of normal girls who would angrily suggest a use for scissors or blunt rusty spoons to irritating boys that laughed at their discomfort, she had regarded him calmly for a moment before quietly detailing a pill that would do something much worse.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Thanks to Miyano Ran for pointing out that I was sort of vague with the consequences. I added, "to irritating boys that laughed at their discomfort." That should fix it. Let me know if it just made it worse.


	6. Clueless

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 6: Cluelessness, thy Name is Boy.

Premise: Another mystery for Conan to solve. This one isn't a murder mystery, shocking!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They both followed professions that didn't believe in ghosts.

She didn't believe in ghosts because even if she didn't know why, she believed that every abnormal phenomenon could be scientifically explained. Where's the mysticism in that?

If you asked him, he would scoff at the idea of ghosts. Why? They're just stories used to scare others. How scared could you possibly get if your job requires you to examine dead bodies frequently? Because it was hard to muster up any fear for the supernatural, he could approach every ghostly "mystery" with a clear logical mind.

Which was why he was rather confused when Ai let out a "Kyaa" and squeezed his arm tighter every time someone mentioned the word 'ghost.' Oddly, the other children thought nothing of it. But then again, the other girl had his other arm in a choke hold, and the two taller boys were doing a poor job of hiding behind him.

He wasn't able to save his arms, but he finally figured out the trick. A small electrical discharge, a large loop of wire, and an interesting trinket created this ghost.

Once outside, Conan pulled Haibara aside. He rotated his right arm a little, trying to will feeling back into the limb as they slowed down, letting the other children outdistance them so that they could speak privately.

"What?" Ai finally asked in an innocent tone of voice.

"You know what." he replied. "I know you don't believe in ghosts." he accused. "What are you up to?"

She paused briefly. Then she leaned forward until their faces were almost touching.

He gulped.

"Do you really think I am up to something" Ai paused and an enigmatic smirk appeared on her face, "...Mr. Detective?"

"Hey you two, hurry up!" Mitsuhiko shouted. If anything, Ai's smirk seemed to grow larger as she turned and leisurely strolled over to the three waiting children.

Conan shrugged and trotted after them.

Years later, Conan and Ai would recall this moment and others before they laughed at his cluelessness.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Thanks to Miyano Ran for pointing out that Ai was slightly out of character.


	7. Wait, Please

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Disclaimer: _#23 - Honor_ is not mine. It belongs to Astarael00 who I asked for permission and received with a caveat. Easily done.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 7: I'll be There When you Return Home

(Possible response to Astarael00's _CA 1sentence_, File 3, #23 – Honor)

"#23 – Honor  
He thought she was practical but somewhat cowardly, and he knew that she tended to look out for 'number one,' so it never occurred to him that she had a sense of honor as fully-developed as his - he didn't find out until she took the bullet for him." - Astarael00

Premise: Conan and Ai confront Gin and Vodka. The police will be here soon, however instead of running right away, Gin pulled out a gun.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Her side hurt. That was the first thought that entered her mind when she woke up.

She was in a hospital, lying on a sterile smelling white cot.

Then...it happened. It happened so quickly that she was completely unprepared. The instant a small boy had latched onto her shoulders, Ai found herself suffering whiplash as her head flew wildly back and forth.

"Why!" Conan shouted. "Why did you get in the way?!" Later, he wouldn't admit that he was crying, but the tears were unmistakable.

"Hey. Stop that kid. You're in a hospital." a passing nurse sternly reprimanded before leaving the room. Ai was too dizzy to voice her agreement, but she was grateful when the boy detective stopped shaking her.

She stared at him quizzically. Asking him a silent question. He answered.

"You're only interested in yourself, right? You'd pick your own life over someone else's right? Why couldn't you do it this time?" He quietly pleaded to her, a memory overtaking his vision, one where she jumped in front of him just as the gun fired.

A brief memory flashed through her own mind while he was asking. One involving Ayumi, her, and running away. She opened her mouth, but hesitated. It wasn't something that she was willing to reveal.

He didn't give her a chance to gather the courage to say it. Instead, he squeezed her arm tightly...

"Please. Haibara! Don't change. I want someone to come back to when this is all over."

Her near death had weakened his shaky belief that everyone would be alive and well in the end.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N – I wrote this because I thought that inserting a random nurse's comment would have been amusing.

A/N – The sentence posted in the introduction can be found here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2989510/3/


	8. Pepper

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 8: The Disgusting Pepper

Premise: It's a nice day to cook.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

She was a bit clinical when she cooked.

Give her a cookbook and point to a recipe and Ai could prepare it...but she followed the instructions a bit too carefully in his opinion. Sure, in her experiments she had to be cautious with the amount that she put in...but cooking wasn't supposed to be as exact as science.

One day, to prove his point, he slipped a hot pepper into the steaming soup. It was ready to serve, so Ai had left it out in the open as she worked on the rice.

Needless to say, she hadn't caught the change until all three of them sat down to eat.

"Ai-kun, this soup a bit different today." said the Professor.

Curious, the girl took a sip from her own soup bowl. Then she stood up and walked over to the steaming pot of soup. Without a second thought, she calmly fished out the offending object and threw it into the trash.

She returned to her seat and sat back down...acting as if she had been there the entire time.

He watched her completely finish her soup. Then, to their shock, she picked up Agasa's bowl and proceeded to finish that one too. Confused, he picked up his own bowl and took a sip. He nearly gagged, the tinge of spiciness didn't mix at all with the natural sweetness of this soup. And she finished two bowls of the stuff?

Apparently, she knew what he was trying to say because the dishes that she prepared afterwards had far more life to them. However, whenever he approached the kitchen, he could feel her eyes tracking his every movement.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: I prefer stories...but...there's a reason for these drabbles. If you think that a character wouldn't do that, please let me know. I'm trying to get a feel for the characters so that my eventual stories would be more believable.


	9. Hoops

**Disclaimer:** I'd bring in the disclaiming pig from another story, but I'm trying to maintain some seriousness here. I don't own the series, Detective Conan, or its characters. The honor belongs to Aoyama Gosho. In no way do I intend to profit off of this story.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 9: Jumping through Hoops

Premise: Ai couldn't find the antidote again.

-o-o-o-o-o-

High School, Conan Edogawa quickly discovered, was even easier the second time around. Because of this, he spent a lot of time daydreaming. Especially about one girl that always sat next to him in class.

One day, he finally worked up the courage to ask.

She gave a brief but lazy, "no."

He immediately asked if it was because he had taken too long and she had finally given up.

Her response was a cool gaze and a simple, "don't flatter yourself."

It was her way of letting him know that she was still waiting. So he begged, pleaded, and cajoled her for an answer why. Why didn't she want to be his girlfriend?

He finally received one.

"Edogawa-kun, I don't want to because of your past history regarding girlfriends."

The only girlfriend that he could think of was Ran, and he pointed this out as well as explaining that it wasn't his fault that the two were forced to break up. Faced with these facts, she had to agree!

"Fine fine. I'll be your girlfriend." She said this with a casual wave of her hand and an air of unconcern.

Before he could cheer, Ai took advantage of their new status to ask her first personal question.

"So tell me, what's so great about being a detective?"

Surprised, he set about answering it to the best of his ability. Several minutes later, he snapped his mouth shut...but the damage had been done.

It took even more begging, several arguments, lots of teasing, and an additional clause stating that Haibara could rethink her decision if he purchased an expensive gift for her before the two signed a contract. It gave Ai the right to break off their relationship at any time and he couldn't bother her about it afterwards.

Needless to say, the two were finally together. Ai was happy, Conan was happy, but until Ai finally took pity on it, Conan's wallet was not.

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A/N:  
**I was pretty happy with this one. It resulted from a thought: why would Ai agree so quickly anyway? However, I keep wondering about Conan begging Ai to be his girlfriend. I know he would do it, somewhat, but it just feels weird.

That second to last paragraph, first sentence...I don't know how to clarify it. I'm pretty certain it isn't very clear to the reader unless they read it twice, but none of the word tricks in my bag work.

When Conan mentions that it wasn't his fault that the two broke up. It occurred to me that the reader might assume that he was pressuring Ai into accepting. I'm not completely sure, but I think that this would be an issue that they resolved some time ago. Long story short, they both finally understand that he isn't blaming her. In other words, neither of them believe that he refuses to blame her.

**Tip of the Day:  
**Don't write in notepad then copy and paste to document writer. It makes formatting on ffnet a nightmare.

**Acknowledgements:  
**Hands up for Mizuki Ai! She added me to her author's alert list, and I kept feeling guilty that I didn't have anything to show her.


	10. Calm

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Drabble 10: Calm

Premise: After months of hard work, the Black Organization is on the verge of teetering over. However, they aren't going to fall apart without a big bang.**  
**

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Haibara was the epitome of calm, seriousness, and control. She rarely reacted with great outbursts of emotion. The only times when he witnessed her acting irrationally were when their lives were in danger by the Black Organization. A perfectly acceptable reason to be scared.

After leading Tokyo's finest to this spot, the two stood on the sidelines and waited. As the activity bustled around them, Conan watched from the corner of his eye as the girl standing next to him stoically observed the Black Organization's final moments.

There was a shout, directing his attention away from Haibara for a moment.

He grinned. The bomb had stopped counting down. The Black Organization's final act had failed to take another life!

And even then, Haibara continued to gaze at the scene without a hint of a smile or a frown.

So when she made a cute sound and fainted right when he joyfully hugged her, Conan looked like a fish.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

- I don't think the BO would fall without any more losses of life. But you never quite know with Conan in the middle of it.

- Now then, Ai fainted because she was really really happy that she couldn't hold it in anymore. From the fall of the BO or Conan's actions, I won't tell because I don't know myself.

- I prefer stories...but...there's a reason for these drabbles. If you think that a character wouldn't do that, please let me know. I'm trying to get a feel for the characters so that my eventual stories would be more believable.


	11. Lost

**Disclaimer:** I'd bring in the disclaiming pig from another story, but I'm trying to maintain some seriousness here. I don't own the series, Detective Conan, or its characters. The honor belongs to Aoyama Gosho. In no way do I intend to profit off of this story.

-o-o-o-o-o-

**Drabble 11: Lost**

Premise: This is a continuation of the manga. Hopefully. At the very least you can be confident of canon up to around chapter 575ish. I haven't read from then on so if something happens here that's completely opposite of what's happened in the manga, we've diverged.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The Black Organization fell a few months ago.

During the confusion, as agents and police swarmed the building, a small boy went unnoticed as he stole up to an empty terminal before leaving the building with data on APTX4869. With this data, Ai finally developed a working antidote.

He took it right after she gave him the pill, and aside from nausea and a bit of blood during and a few days after the transformation, it looked like Conan was gone forever and Shinichi was here to stay.

She had a problem. With the fall of the Black Organization, Ai did not have to focus on surviving anymore. With the completion of the antidote, she did not have anything that she could work on. There was one thing left that she wanted to do, but after considering it for some time, she decided not to waste her time on the impossible.

Without these major driving forces in her life, she suddenly found herself lost as her life suddenly lacked meaning. She continued to live, but a glazed look had entered her eyes as she mechanically took each step, one at a time. Her mind restlessly wandered but it offered no suggestions on what she could do next.

She lost track of time, hours blended into each other and soon they became days. One day, there was an interruption during history class, and the teacher paused in his lecture to speak with the intruder for a moment. He turned to the class moments later.

"Haibara-san, your mother has taken ill and your older brother has come to pick you up. You may leave, and I hope for a successful recovery."

The haziness that had come to represent each day faded away a little as a recently dormant wariness arose once again. She didn't have a brother. Who would pretend to be a member of her family? What motive did he have? Could it be that the Black Organization wasn't as dead as they had believed?

She reluctantly stood up from her seat amidst the small murmurs of prayers and well-wishing from her fellow students. Their comments fell on deaf ears, she was too busy worrying about the identity of her 'brother.' Hopefully the staff would be able to stop the man if she shouted loud enough. However, the chances of a member of the organization walking around without a gun was nonexistant.

Ai slowly followed behind the messenger as they made their way towards the office where her 'brother' was waiting. The empty school hallways echoed with their footsteps. Once they arrived, the messenger held the door open for her. She took a deep breath...and walked in.

What happened next, she was completely unprepared for.

"Hey sis." A large hand ruffled her hair. It belonged to a teenage boy sitting in a small chair. Aside from a strawberry blond wig, she knew exactly who this was.

"Shin-"

"C'mon, we have a sick mom to see," Shinichi said with a wink before he stood up and took her hand. After signing her out, Shinichi led the girl from school grounds.

It soon became obvious that Shinichi was not taking her home.

"Where are we going?" Ai finally asked as the two made their way down a fairly quiet street.

"Where else, Haibara? It's a nice day out, so I'm taking you to the park for a walk. Since you're at the top of your class, you can stand to miss a day."

"But what about you?" Ai asked. Implied was the question: why wasn't he with Ran?

"Haha," Shinichi laughed nervously, a hand behind his head, "I missed too many days. What's one more when you don't understand the material at all?" he looked away and muttered, "I don't think Mom and Dad will be too happy when I'm held back a year though."

And just like that, he had dodged Ai's real question. Ai had to wait before she could ask again, since they had just stepped into a crowded subway.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Where is Ran?" she finally asked when they entered the park.

Shinichi looked down at the short scientist before he sighed. "We were apart for too long, there isn't a hint of romance between us right now. She's happy to see me, but we're at the stage of friends once again..."

"Oh." Ai said, a hopeful feeling welling within. She ruthlessly quashed it when she heard him say, "...she's willing to try again, but we both need some space for now."

Ai suddenly felt her hair being ruffled again. She looked up and turned so that she could gaze at him with a neutral look.

Shinichi had a sheepish grin on his face. "I can't help it, it's so soft," he said before he sniffed his hand. "It smells nice too. Lavendar?"

The unamused look remained on her face, causing Shinichi to sigh again before he bent down to whisper in her ear, "Whether you take the antidote now or grow up in 10 years, I'll be here for you Haibara."

When a confused look appeared on her face, he got down on one knee and said, "I promised that I would protect you, and I mean it. I won't leave you behind."

Ai stared oddly at him for a moment longer before she quickly turned away to hide the smile blossoming on her face. Maybe...Maybe it wasn't as impossible as she thought. Even if she failed in the end, she had to try.

She had meaning in her life once again.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

- Ai strikes me as the type of person who, if she didn't have a goal to work towards, she would feel lost. I mean, she isn't quite the type who would search for adventure. She's the type that would sit and wait for something to happen.

- The best part about this idea is that the ShinxRan lovers can't have Shinichi pull a child Ran from the classroom without him coming off as some sort of cradle robber. I mean, how do you get a child Ran? 1, you shrink her with the pill. In this case she'd demand that he go back to school. 2, you have her grow up from scratch. The same applies for ShinxAyumi lovers.

- I have no clue what color Ai's eyes are.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Replies for Miyano Ran: From oldest to newest:

Ch 1 - ...

Ch 2 - ...

Ch 3 – I wrote this one assuming Ai couldn't find a pill. Thanks for pointing out that I need to write a premise for the previous chapters.

Ch 4 – I agree, that's why I wasn't thinking of them as elementary students when I wrote this drabble. Again, what if Ai wasn't able to create the antidote? This one uses a universe similar to 'Memento Mori' by PyroKid.

Ch 5 – Uhh...I like you already! I'm not going to tarnish your innocence to explain this one! It's just a joke carried out Ai style. But...I found a problem with it and I added a patchlike fix.

Ch 6 – Love can make you do strange things. Besides, she's a good actor...Conan and Ai know that. Not only that, she has to act like a kid to stay out of suspicion. I got it! I'll just change these two lines and...voila!

Ch 7 – Possible response to Astarael00's _CA 1sentence_, File 3, #23 – Honor

This time love isn't an issue. I'll update the premise...maybe I can get Astarael's permission to copy and paste that drabble.

Ch 8 – For the life of me, I couldn't think of a sweet soup either. But the pepper added a spicy bitter tang to the soup that makes you wanna retch. I'll doublecheck to make sure. I could've sworn I had something about the change in taste...

Ch 9 – Jumping through hoops? Just because Ai likes him doesn't mean she's going to make it easy to get together with her. You see it all the time...she runs away, she hides her feelings, ...I just wrote something different.

Ch 10 – Yup! That's my favorite part in this drabble. I built most of this chapter around it.


	12. Smile

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**D****rabble 12: Smile**

Premise: This is a simple tale. One where Conan isn't thinking about murder mysteries and Ai isn't thinking about the antidote.**  
**

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The camera clicked one last time as the detective boys and Professor Agasa posed happily in front of the ocean. It had been a perfect day and it was time to return home.

Several days later, Conan was helping the Professor file away the newly arrived pictures when he noticed something.

Pulling out several other pictures from his collection, he found that the pattern continued. He stood up to find another photo album to look through.

"Are you done already Conan-kun?" Professor Agasa asked, catching the boy's attention.

However, instead of watching the Professor reach over and take his unfinished pile, Conan's gaze rested upon the only girl in the group as she stared at a picture in her hands.

He immediately pulled the camera from the couch and snapped a shot, his hasty action catching the attention of the other two.

"Hahaha, I slipped," the boy innocently replied as he walked up to the table, took another helping of photographs, and sat down once again. The other two blinked once or twice before they returned to their own tasks.

Of course the two didn't believe him. However, one wasn't interested in finding out the real reason and the other knew that Conan would explain it when he felt like it.

A few days later, Conan happily picked out a photograph. In it, Haibara was smiling as she gazed down at a picture between her hands.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

- Now that I look at it, I realize that this chapter drew its roots from KaitouMagician's 31 days. However, it's neat how it's a completely different way to look at the situation.

- Frankly, I'm not sure if Conan was happy because Ai was finally in a photo, or because he finally had one of her smiling.

- The photos? There was a time where you could drop off a roll of film and then the developed films would be ready in a couple days for pickup.


	13. Stop Digging

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Premise: I think this can occur in canon. I'm not sure.

Drabble 13: Digging Yourself in Deeper

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ai stared at the voice-changing bow tie with half-lidded eyes. It was just lying on the workbench.

Did the professor forget to put his stuff away again?

-o-o-o-o-o-

Conan looked down at his cell phone.

"The Professor?" he curiously wondered when he saw the phone number displayed on the front. He flipped the phone open, "Hello?"

"Conan-kun?" Ran's confused voice said from the other end. "Why do you have Shinichi's phone?"

- Shock! -

Conan quickly beat down his terror to say, "Ah haha, Ran-neechan! I'm at Shinichi-niichan's house of course. What are you doing at the Professor's house?"

"Why would I be at Agasa-san's house, Conan-kun?" Ran asked as she stepped out from the kitchen. She was using a towel to dry both hands. Her hands suddenly went to her hips as she bent over and looked suspiciously at him. "And what was that about Shinichi-niichan?"

Conan gaped at the girl in front of him, the phone slowly falling from limp fingers.

There was a click and then silence as the person on the other end hung up.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

Ai was just playing a joke. Unfortunately, Conan got into trouble before she could laugh and say, "just kidding."

Ai is using a spare voice-changing bow tie.

The Idea comes from :  
30 Friends: Shinichi and Heiji  
by **Candyland**. Chapter 9.

There you go** Great Detective**, I wrote this without realizing that it applied to 'phone.'

Giest – Aye! But before that, we had the 1 hr prints for like 1 to 3 years, I think.

Did I forget to reply to any other reviewers?


	14. Declarations

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Premise: This is an AU sort of happening. It is not a sequel to the previous chapter.

Drabble 14: Declaration of Love

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Conan," he heard Ran whisper from behind him. "I love you."

Conan grit his teeth and, without turning around, said, "You might have fooled me if you had a longer shadow...Haibara." He turned around and held out his hand, "Now stop joking around and give that back."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

Another bow-tie trick. If only Ai wasn't afraid to say it in her own voice.

The Idea comes from :  
30 Friends: Shinichi and Heiji  
by **Candyland**. Chapter 9.


	15. Thief

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Premise: Ai and Conan are still kids. The scene occurs late at night or early the next day.

Drabble 15: Thief

-o-o-o-o-o-

Hindsight was 20/20. And now he wished he hadn't gone.

Of course she would know about it. It was always a well-publicized event. And several of his diminutive classmates always got together and discussed it in childish ways the next day. Unfortunately, it hadn't occurred to him that their discussions - about why the police should leave the thief alone – had been stimulated by the TV; he was always there at the scene in question, why would he need to see it on TV?

When the newest note appeared in the newspaper that morning, he had solved it with his usual vigor. And then he waited.

When it came time, a simple story about how he was staying the night at the professor's house allowed him to sneak away from the Mouri home.

He hadn't even realized she was following him until he turned around when he heard footsteps. 'Did she think he was following a lead on their enemy?' was the first thought that came to mind.

Instead of trying to lose her, he beckoned her over to walk with him; this had nothing to do with the BO and it would be fun for once. She calmly caught up, acting as if it was a chance event that brought the two of them together at this time of night. The rest of the journey to the mansion was completed in silence.

Soon it was time for them to separate, and Conan left to find the mysterious thief.

They rejoined an hour later. The thief had managed to escape again, but at least the angel's tear was back in its case.

As they were leaving, he caught sight of the elegant rose proudly displayed in her hand. And that was when he realized that she had not made a mistake.

And it bothered him.

Even though he knew that Haibara had a penchant for rooting for the underdog, this time she was cheering on Kaitou Kid.

It really bothered him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

Acknowledgements

Story Idea from:  
Strings of Fate  
by Hikari-chan


	16. Code

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Premise: A short tale. Ai and Conan are still kids. The scene takes place in Teitan elementary.

Drabble 16: Code

-o-o-o-o-o-

It began with Ayumi sending a message to Ai during class, unfolded and open for everyone to see.

Since he was sitting between the two, Conan was allowed a brief glance at the message before Ai plucked the note from his fingers, looked at it, and then hid it away.

What he saw had interested him, and he quickly drew whatever strange symbols he had remembered seeing before staring at the lined paper in front of him for a long moment.

No good. Every symbol that he had written down happened to be unique. And because he couldn't remember every symbol, there were several gaps of unknown length between each one...he didn't know the true length of the words, or where they started and ended.

He couldn't break the code.

He finally went to Haibara during lunch, and shamefully asked if he could see the message again. From the corner of his eye, he saw a large grin appear on Ayumi's face.

To keep his irritation from growing, he firmly fixed his attention on Haibara. A mistake, he soon found out, when she did nothing but stare coolly at him.

He was just starting to feel antsy when she finally replied, "What message?"

"..." No help from her.

It was maddening! He spent the rest of school struggling to figure out what this incomplete note was saying. It was only when class let out and some girls were chattering nearby while packing when he hurriedly grabbed the pencil sitting in front of him.

One of the girls had mentioned the school fair, and that was when a few of the symbols suddenly corrected themselves while the missing ones faded into view before his very eyes. He finally knew what the message said.

Hastily scrawling down the answer, he bolted for the door.

"Haibara, I finally figured it out," he shouted when he caught sight of her small form. She stopped and turned to look at him.

"Figured what out?" she asked with a mysterious smile.

"You know what," he had growled and an amused look appeared on her face.

"Do tell."

Instead of telling, Conan handed over his translated note.

"Oh? Is this what it said?" Ai commented as she read it over. She looked up. "Good work Mr. Detective."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:

Haibara! The master of sarcasm.

Ayumi wanted to make a code that Conan-proof. To do this the right way, you just write something that girls would normally talk about in ordinary readable text. But Ayumi did it the wrong way...she wrote it in code and displayed it for the entire world to see.

Now ordinary boys won't read it, but Conan is going to be interested.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten that if Conan couldn't break it, most other people couldn't even hope to read it. Or maybe that other person wasn't interested in reading a coded message in the first place and hadn't bothered to read and memorize the decoding table given to her earlier.

The Idea somewhat comes from :  
Tastes Like Sherry  
Author: Kinda-Mayvelle


	17. Alcohol

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Premise: I'm not sure where to put this. Canon, or slight AU. Probably slight AU.

Drabble 17: Alcohol

* * *

*Pop*

~ Fweee! ~

He slowly walked around the small crowd, taking care to stay at the edge of the action to avoid being drawn into it. Despite the kiddylike atmosphere and his reluctance to be involved in the activity, the sheer energy of his surroundings was enough to put a smile on his face. It looked like Ayumi's birthday party was a success.

He turned his head to look at a well-lit corner of the room. The one standing there was smiling, but Conan could see that it was painfully fake. Very much so. Even the other children would notice if they had been looking. Strange, Haibara was usually a better actor than this.

She must have noticed him looking in her direction, because the smile suddenly seemed to brighten to the point that even he would have a hard time telling that it was fake.

"Fun party, huh?" he asked as he walked over.

"Yes, very," she cheerily replied to him. And that was the end of that.

The two stood there silently for some time before something occurred to him. Could that be why Ai was so distant this time?

"When's your birthday?" he asked, skirting around the real issue.

He noticed her seize up for a moment before she slowly lifted her head and stared blankly at him. And then, just when he started to feel uncomfortable under her dead look, she slowly shook her head no before she seemed to brighten up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he found himself asking.

Her enigmatic smirk appeared on her face, indicating that she had something to hide. "My my, unobservant are we today, Detective-kun?"

"Eh?"

But she had turned and walked off, their conversation was over. He quickly ran after her and demanded an explanation, but she ignored him for the rest of the party.

After Ayumi came from nowhere and grabbed him around the neck with both arms, he halted his attempts to chase after her in the near future.

He couldn't remember why he had asked Haibara for her birthday. But, it wasn't important anymore. He was more concerned about when it could be.

* * *

*Spppffffttt!*

"What the?! Water?!"

Conan stopped working on his homework and looked up. Here it comes.

"Brat! What did you do to my Sake!" the Incompetent Detective roared before slamming both hands on the coffee table.

Conan immediately knew that his life was in danger. He tried to get up and run.

* Bonk! *

"Ack!" he felt himself fall over. Sitting up, he quickly nursed the newly growing bump as he glared defiantly up at the older detective.

"Return...my...sake."

Conan gasped as a bottle with water crashed into him.

He had no other choice. Firmly holding onto the bottle that had forcefully been given to him, Conan stood up and let out a halfhearted grunt of agreement before heading to the kitchen.

"Conan?" he heard Ran ask when he pulled the half-full bottle of Sake out from under the table with his free hand.

He quickly turned to her. "Ran-neechan! Good afternoon!"

"What's that?" he heard her coldly ask.

Chills ran down his spine. "Nothing!"

"Is that a bottle of sake?"

"No! No, of course not."

"Conan-kun..."

He quickly tried a different route. "Your father lost track of it earlier, I was finding it for him."

"Oh, really?" he heard her ask in a skeptical tone of voice.

Instead of replying, he dashed out of the kitchen.

Only to discover that the old man had been guarding the doorway to the kitchen when he felt the real bottle plucked from his grip. He never saw the incoming fist.

Stars filled his vision and the bottle half-filled with water fell from his grasp as he took another blow to the back of his head.

* * *

As he kneeled in his spot and recovered, Conan heard Ran approach. He quickly fought down a smug grin.

"Dad! This is the second time already! You're being a bad influence on Conan-kun!"

"Now now, Ran."

Snickering slightly, Conan quickly picked up the bottle of water before disappearing from the scene, stopping only for a brief moment to pick up his backpack. He paused in front of a linen closet.

Looking suspiciously up and down the hall, he was happy to hear Ran was still in the middle of chewing out her father, who was desperately trying to calm his daughter down with repeated apologies. With a sigh, he opened the closet before digging under a stack of bedsheets and towels. He pulled out another sake bottle and tried to shove it into his backpack, only to realize that the bottle was a bit too big.

"What are you doing Conan-kun?" he heard Ran ask him from behind.

He turned around in terror.

* * *

Conan struggled to lift the backpack.

"Are you sure that you don't need help?" Ran worriedly asked.

"It's fine," he reassured her, putting on a carefree grin even as his knees shook. "I'll be back in two hours."

Once he was out the door, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was lucky that he still had that sake bottle full of water on him. Ran hadn't thought to check the second bottle after confirming that there really was water in the one that he had shown her.

So, with the excuse that he was bringing the bottles to Ai so that they could work on their project for school, he left with Ran's blessing.

He was pretty certain that she still suspected something though, especially because his explanation of the project was evasive at best, but the evidence would be gone by the time he returned.

* * *

The front door opened a crack, allowing the one behind the door to peek out and interact with whoever was outside.

"Edogawa."

"Haibara," he replied.

"Professor Hakase isn't in right now, I think he went to visit a friend down the street," she calmly told him before she shut the door.

He started ringing the doorbell again.

There was an irritated expression on her face when she opened the door again.

"I wasn't looking for the professor this time. Can I come in?" he quickly explained.

Haibara finally pulled the door open and moved aside.

* * *

"..."

"Sake," he explained. "I thought you would like some."

The two of them were sitting at the kitchen counter.

She looked at him, and Conan knew that she was asking him where it came from. "The old man."

"How?"

He knew that she wouldn't normally ask that question, but Ran's dad was infamously protective of his pleasures.

With a proud look on his face, he set out to explain. "I half-filled one of his empty sake bottles with water before I switched it with a bottle filled with sake. Because the bottle isn't clear glass, the water looked just like sake. He wouldn't realize that one of his bottles had gone missing unless he tried to drink it. And even if he did, there are so many empty bottles lying around that I have a convenient alibi."

She nodded. "Clever."

"Then I took a little bit of Sake and put it into a third bottle. Don't worry, this was one of the bottles where he didn't put his lips to," he added as an afterthought.

Haibara continued to stare strangely at him.

"He doesn't put his lips to the bottle unless he's celebrating," he explained.

"..." he saw her think about it for a moment before she casually waved at him to continue.

"As you've probably realized, I couldn't empty the bottle that I had exchanged; I had to make sure that he didn't notice that some of the sake was missing when I returned the bottle. I had perform the substitution trick three times, slowly adding to the sake in this bottle. This is a product of my hard work, I thought you would like to forget for a bit, so umm...let's enjoy!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Ho?" she commented before she stood up and walked behind the counter. She returned a few moments with a pair of large drink glasses in her hand.

It didn't take them long to empty the bottle of sake into both cups.

And then, before Conan had a chance to settle down, he watched in surprise as Ai picked up her glass and started to drain it.

Ai hiccupped halfway through.

Conan was a bit surprised, faster than he had expected.

"It's poisoned, isn't it?" she slurred. "That's why you're not drinking any, right?"

Conan quickly took a sip before he started to cough and gag. Too strong.

He thought he heard Haibara snicker into her cup as she she drained another large portion of her cup, but he couldn't be sure.

And then she just stopped and sat there, staring suspiciously at the cup.

He waited for a moment to give the alcohol some time to settle...

"Whose house did you visit yesterday?" he suddenly asked.

She gave him a funny look. "You know this already..." she mumbled.

"Humor me..." he placatingly said.

"Ayumi's..."

"Oh, right."

They sat there for a few minutes, neither saying a word. Neither taking a sip from their cup.

"Haibara?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like me?" he asked, gagging in his mind at his boldness.

"Yes," she lazily hissed out.

That surprised him. But he quickly recovered his wits. It was just the alcohol talking after all. "Really? How old are you?"

"22," she slurred out. "Are you going anywhere with this?"

"Of course not."

The two sat in silence a little longer.

"When's your birthday?"

And then he watched in surprise as the bleary look immediately evaporated. "So that's your plan."

"Huh?!"

"There isn't enough alcohol in here, Mr. Detective," she said as she held up her cup with a look. A look that seemed to tell him that he had forgotten something very important about her.

He immediately slapped a mental hand over his forehead. He had forgotten that a former member of the Black Organization sat before him. If the cocktail codenames weren't enough of a hint...

He dejectedly watched as she shrugged and took another sip from her cup. And then he felt a chill run down his spine she paused with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey!" he shouted as the alcohol dripped off of his hair and face.

He had had no time to react when she threw the sake at him.

Haibara set her empty glass down on the counter. "This Sake is horrible. Next time you wish to drug me, don't raid the incompetent detective's private stores."

* * *

Ran opened the door.

"Conan-kun, welcome back! You're just in time for dinner!"

Conan walked in with a happy smile.

*Slam*

The unbelieveably loud sound of the door slamming shut made him whirl around in surprise before he took a step back. "Why are you so mad Ran-neechan?" he timidly asked as he subtly looked for an escape route.

"Have you been drinking."

"N-No! Of course not!"

"Then why do I smell sake on you?"

* * *

A/N:

Conan with his crazy schemes.

The Idea comes from :  
Planning session between Ran-dezvous and I. 


	18. Again

Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. The series belongs to its creator, Gosho Aoyama, and I'm just borrowing the characters and scenery to create these short tales.

Premise: Ai and Conan are in their teens, she failed to find the cure and the two were forced to accept it and grow up again.

* * *

Drabble 18: Again

* * *

When he gave her an expensive red rose, she took it from him and immediately threw it aside.

Conan stared at the remains of the flower in confusion. Perhaps she didn't like what normal girls liked...?

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Haibara." he greeted the next day.

This time he held out a small vial of white powder.

"What's this?"

"I'm not sure, I figured you would know."

She stared at him, just stared.

So he continued with the exotic plan that he had concocted. "Yesterday, a murder occurred while I was buying dinner at the local supermarket. Of course I solved it, but there was one thing that was bothering me, so I found a vial and-"

"I'm 14," she interrupted.

Conan paused. "What?"

Instead of answering, she took the vial and eyed it for several moments before she pulled off the cap. She took a tentative whiff. Then, before he could stop her, she dipped a finger in and tasted the contents.

She looked up at him, "Sugar?"

He sheepishly nodded.

She looked at him strangely before recapping the vial and walking off.

He looked down at the vial that was lying passively upon the desk. From her professional behavior, he could tell that she had liked this about as much as the rose. That is to say, not very.

He wracked his brains for an answer to the question, "So what would Ai like?"

He suddenly snapped his fingers and ran off. Let the teachers ask tomorrow, this was more important.

"Haibara!" he shouted when he spotted her walking home later that day.

She turned to him before looking down. "Stop being so childish Kudo," she coolly said before she reached down and plucked the fresh rose from his grasp. But, unlike last time, she held it firmly in her grip.

He grinned.

He had a feeling she might take it this time.

* * *

A/N:

Ai strikes me as the type who will refuse things sprung on her the first time around because of her guarded nature. But she also strikes me as the type who will regret it really badly afterwards. When it appears the second time, she'll take it.

I was going to use a figurine of a tortured soul in place of the sugar vial, but that didn't really belong in this universe even though it'd be a good gift to give some girls.


End file.
